JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR
Assemblyman Jeff Gorell speaks during the Ventura County & BRAC: Defending our Military Community and Economy forum held at CSU Channel Islands.

Ventura County Star

TROY HARVEY/THE STAR
U.S. House candidate Rafael Dagnesses speaks with Nino Guillen during a tour of Scosche Industries in Oxnard.

Ventura County Star

Three of the four candidates on the June 3 primary ballot for the 26th Congressional District and all three candidates for the 44th Assembly District participated in a public forum Saturday in Thousand Oaks.

The event from 3 to 5 p.m. at California Lutheran University was divided into two parts: one for candidates vying to represent Ventura County in the U.S. House of Representatives and one for those seeking election to the California Assembly.

Jeff Gorell, R-Camarillo, the 44th District incumbent who is running for the congressional seat, joined his Republican rival for Congress Rafael Dagnesses, of the Santa Rosa Valley, on the dais along with Pepperdine University law professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Malta Doug Kmiec, an independent from Malibu.

The 26th District incumbent, Democrat Julia Brownley was absent, having declined an invitation to participate.

During the question-and-answer session, Dagnesses characterized himself as someone outside the system whose lack of legislative experience is a virtue, not a handicap.

Gorell, on the other hand, stressed that it is precisely his experience in the state Legislature and his ability to work "across the aisle" to get things done that make him the best candidate.

Kmiec portrayed himself as someone dedicated to the ideals of the founding fathers and above party politics.

The 44th Assembly District contenders also came across as offering very distinct options for voters.

Democrat Jacqui Irwin recounted her achievements as a three-term City Council member in Thousand Oaks and stressed the endorsements she has received and her ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans.

Small-business owner Mario de la Piedra, of Camarillo, a Republican, portrayed himself as an advocate for agriculture who wants to grow jobs and help people.

Republican Rob McCoy, pastor at the Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, said he's seeking office to reverse big government and prevent businesses and jobs from leaving the state.

The first forum session was dedicated to the three Assembly candidates, who were asked questions about the drought and water conservation, traffic congestion, the economy and marriage equality.

Asked about whether they supported in California the energy production technique known as fracking, McCoy said the process that uses drilling and water to fracture shale rock to release fossil fuels is "a great opportunity."

"We have all of the natural resources available to get this economy rolling and we stifle our own citizens by not allowing access to those natural resources," McCoy said. "I am very excited about the opportunities that await California if we could just access our natural resources."

De la Piedra said he does not support a ban on fracking because jobs are a priority, while Irwin described her approach to fracking as "very skeptical."

Asked about whether they'd take steps to ensure access to higher education if elected, Irwin said she is "a great believer in public education."

"The UC system is one of the best education systems in the world," she said. "Those systems have to be supported."

McCoy said the problem with higher education in the state is "the bloated administration and the centralization of our system" and using Californians' money to educate those who are not citizens of the state.

De la Piedra said he considered access to a solid education to be a civil right.

"We need to be able to pay teachers based on their performance and hire and fire accordingly," he said.

For the candidates for Congress, the questions ranged from their thoughts on equal pay for women, the minimum wage and immigration to their opinion about cuts to the U.S. military.

When asked about the Affordable Health Care Act, Dagnesses denounced it as the "Unaffordable Health Care Act" and said if elected, he would fight to repeal it.

Gorell, too, said he'd like to repeal the act if given an opportunity to vote against it.

"The ACA is a broken model," Gorell said. "What I commit to doing is making sure that I am at the table to reform the ACA and to ensure that we can create a marketplace that brings down costs."

Kmiec, however, said he believes President Barack Obama deserves "enormous credit" for trying to reform health care.

"The profits of the insurance companies are unconscionable," he said.

He said cited his opponents vowing to continue fighting against Obamacare if elected as symptomatic of the ills that have dogged the 113th Congress and such an intention "is not an opportunity for the common good."

Asked about abortion and gay marriage, Gorell said he is a pro-choice Republican and if elected, would not seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. He said it was up to individual states and not the federal government to define the institution of marriage.

When it comes to economic growth, Dagnesses said things will only change "if you can get government out of the way."

"The bigger the government, the poorer we are," he said.

The Supreme Court decision removing certain caps on individual campaign contributions was part of the reason Kmiec said he decided to enter the race for the 26th Congressional district and run it on a shoestring campaign.

"The fact of the matter is that we are putting public office for sale to the highest bidder," he said.

"If people get the idea that it's only the province of the rich who are listened to, they are not going to register, the are not going to come out to vote and they are not going to preserve that splendid republic that we were given."